Taliban, opposition exchange fire in the mountains north of Kabul
( 2001-09-28 11:00 ) (7 )

In a no-man's-land between two high mountains, Taliban tanks kicked up dust and the roar of multiple rocket launchers echoed through the gorge on Thursday as opposition forces tried to get closer to the Afghan capital.

It will be no easy task for the patchwork forces of the opposition, despite mounting hopes that possible American strikes against the Taliban might help their cause.

Taliban forces control the heights on one mountain and the capital, Kabul, beyond. The opposition northern alliance controls a peak across a desolate valley, where women sit near flat-topped tents and camels forage for food.

Over the past day, both sides traded fire.

The opposition fighters here have four-barreled Shilka anti-aircraft guns, multiple rocket launchers and some tanks. Except for scattered exchanges of fire like this one, no major military activity was reported in Afghanistan on Thursday.

The members of the opposition unit say this forward position, a place with no name, is a mere four miles from Kabul -- but that's a long way with a mountain in between.

Reportedly, refugees from Kabul are headed this way, seeking safety behind the northern alliance's main line of defense near the Afghan capital.

The alliance's ragtag forces, based in the northern Panjshir Valley, have been battling for years against the Taliban -- who control more than 90 percent of Afghanistan -- with little change in the balance of power.

But now the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States have sparked an upsurge in fighting and raised hopes within the opposition that the anti-terror coalition being put together by Washington will help their cause. Already, Russia has said it will provide more arms and military equipment to the alliance.

And opposition fighters are hopeful that possible US military strikes against the Taliban will tip the war in their favor. The Bush administration has threatened punishment against the Taliban unless its hands over Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The opposition forces say taking Kabul is not their primary objective and that they are waiting for the Americans.

"We are waiting for American strikes and once they begin we will decide whether we should launch our offense on Kabul," said Rakhmat Ramazan, an official in the alliance's foreign ministry.

The front line north of Kabul generally lies about 12 miles (19 kilometers) north of the city, though opposition patrols sometimes push even closer. Western and Pakistani sources estimate that the Taliban can field about 40,000 fighters, while the opposition numbers up to 20,000.

For years, the two sides have been battling, mainly with heavy rocket exchanges in the mountainous terrain, with changes on the battlefield determined as much by shifting alliances as by military might.

Although the men of the northern alliance are determined to fight, they also are ready for the war with the Taliban to end.

Sober, a 23-year-old who like many Afghans uses one name, has been battling the Taliban for the past five years, taking up arms shortly after marrying his first wife, with whom he has a 4-year-old son. He married his second wife four months ago and dearly misses her. He visits them a couple of times a week, taking time out from his duties at the front.

The opposition fighters cook, clean and fend for themselves, and their supplies are meager.

"After the war, I want to remove all the mines all over Afghanistan," said Sober, who in the meantime is busy putting mines around opposition positions.

Amid the shooting, the nomads who live in this no-man's-land appear almost oblivious to the fighting, tending to their children and their camels and looking at the sky from time to time, their ears and eyes following the rumble of gunfire.